In data communications networks, switches and routers are common building blocks. The switches and routers are typically both store-and-forward devices. The switches are used to create a network and generally are used as controlling devices to connect various computing devices, including computers, servers, or other devices, such as within a building or campus. Through use of the switches, networked devices are enabled to communicate with each other. Also, the routers are networking devices configured to connect two or more networks, and also to forward data packets along the networks. In packet-switched networks, the routers are configured to link various devices to the Internet, selecting the best path for packet data to travel over the Internet.
In telecommunication networks, including long term evolution (LTE) base stations, numerous switches and routers are used together with base stations. LTE base stations are frequency synchronized but are bandwidth limited because the LTE base stations are designed to support a frequency division duplexing (FDD) mode. The bandwidth of the LTE base stations may be significantly increased by switching to a time division duplexing (TDD) mode from the FDD mode. The TDD mode requires, however, time and phase synchronization such that the radio interface of each LTE base station is time-of-day (ToD) synchronized with +/−1.5 microsecond (ms) of each other (e.g., other LTE base stations). As such, to support and meet ever increasingly high bandwidth requirements, the existing packet networks that support frequency synchronization need to be transformed into packet networks that can support time and phase synchronization. In other words, the existing packet-based networks need to be upgraded or changed to support either a boundary clock (BC) or a transparent clock (TC) for the synchronization. However, many existing packet networks do not support the boundary clock and/or the transparent clock because many of the deployed switches or routers in the existing packet networks are not equipped with such new or enhanced system functionalities.
For example, about 80% of the currently deployed systems in telecommunications networks do not support system functionalities such as time synchronization, including IEEE1588 Transparent Clock (TC) or Synchronous Ethernet (Sync-E). Upgrading the currently deployed systems in the field for such new system functionalities may be costly and sometimes require expensive re-designs of interface cards or system cards, and/or require hardware and/or software updates. Further, sometimes it may not be possible to change the already deployed systems. To add such new system functionalities to currently deployed equipment, there are generally two possible options: (a) replacing the already deployed system with other new equipment, or (b) wiring up additional boxes or devices next to the deployed system to add new system functionalities.
Thus, there is a need for methodologies and/or technologies that are cost effective as well as technically efficient to add new system functionalities to already deployed systems without replacing the deployed systems, without using additional boxes or devices, and without performing significant updates to hardware or software components of the deployments.